Dark Horse Comics has released that 2014 will be their last year with the Star Wars license and that Marvel will be taking over in 2015.

Here's the official press release.

Quote:

The End of an Era

All things come to pass. So too, do all licensed deals. I am sad to report that Disney, the new owner of Lucasfilm, has notified us here at Dark Horse of their intention to move the Star Wars publishing license to another of their recent acquisitions, Marvel Comics, beginning in 2015. This will end a partnership that has lasted more than two decades.

For those who are new to the industry, Dark Horse revolutionized the treatment of comics based on films. After a history of movie properties being poorly handled with little regard for execution and continuity, Dark Horse took a new approach, carefully choosing licenses and approaching them with excitement and creative energy. Our goal was to create sequels and prequels to the films we loved, paying careful attention to quality and detail, essentially treating those films as though they were our own. Star Wars has been the crown jewel of this approach. We began chasing the title as far back as 1989, and with the launch of Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedyís Dark Empire, a new era in comics was born. Iím not ashamed to admit that we were Star Wars geeks, and we have been determined to spare neither effort nor expense in the pursuit of excellence.

It is ironic that this announcement comes at a time when Dark Horse is experiencing its most successful year ever. For obvious reasons, we have prepared for this eventuality by finding new and exciting projects to place on our schedule for 2015 and beyond. Will they take the place of Star Wars? Thatís a tall order, but we will do our best to make that happen. In the meantime, 2014 may be our last year at the helm of the Star Wars comics franchise, but we plan to make it a memorable one. We know that fans of the franchise will expect no less. The Force is with us still.

Mike Richardson

_________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 1:51 pm

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1810Location: Ontario, Canada

I figured it was bound to happen.

I just hope Dark Horse ends it run well, tying up loose ends where possible and publishing as many omnibuses as possible._________________"I'm...from Earth."

I think Marvel will treat this more like they do their superhero comics and we'll get a bit ridiculous.

That being said...Marvel has some of the best writers in the business right now. I'm picturing an NJO era story written by Hickman, a Fraction created Dawn of the Jedi era story, maybe even a little Slott (who is notorious for pulling decent stories out of really bad ones) in the Dark Times era.

This could work, but it'll be a rocky start._________________Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 2:08 pm

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1810Location: Ontario, Canada

Caedus_16 wrote:

Well this makes me sad.

I think Marvel will treat this more like they do their superhero comics and we'll get a bit ridiculous.

That being said...Marvel has some of the best writers in the business right now. I'm picturing an NJO era story written by Hickman, a Fraction created Dawn of the Jedi era story, maybe even a little Slott (who is notorious for pulling decent stories out of really bad ones) in the Dark Times era.

This could work, but it'll be a rocky start.

Oh, I suspect they won't touch Dawn of the Jedi or the NJO at all. I think anything not closely associated with the PT, the OT, or the Clone Wars will be dropped. Most new content will tie into Episode VII and beyond.

That said, there's still a lot of exploration in the post-Ep3 region, and that would be fun!_________________"I'm...from Earth."

I just hope Dark Horse ends it run well, tying up loose ends where possible and publishing as many omnibuses as possible.

Could Dark Horse still publish Omnibuses after 2014? I don't know copyright law very well, or if Dark Horse or Lucasfilm hold the rights to all previous comics, but I would think they would still be able to publish them._________________"But it was so artistically done."

ďNo. I am Ganner. This threshold is mine. I claim it for my own. Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I donít give a damn. None shall pass.Ē

"Shaken, not stirred, will get you cold water with a dash of gin and dry vermouth. The reason you stir it with a special spoon is so not to chip the ice. James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it."

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:23 pm

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Darth_HenningMaster

Joined: 12 Apr 2011Posts: 549Location: Canada

GrandMaster wrote:

Taral-DLOS wrote:

I figured it was bound to happen.

I just hope Dark Horse ends it run well, tying up loose ends where possible and publishing as many omnibuses as possible.

Could Dark Horse still publish Omnibuses after 2014? I don't know copyright law very well, or if Dark Horse or Lucasfilm hold the rights to all previous comics, but I would think they would still be able to publish them.

Depends what happens to republication rights. Dark Horse grabbed them for the original marvel and newspaper strips, so its 50/50 whether or not Marvel would have grabbed all the repub rights back with this coming deal.

If not, I would assume they could (having this same debate on TFN right now actually) just as Bantam does with their books, even though Del Rey has the license. But it depends who gets the rights in this deal.

Unfortunately, as already mentioned, its unlikely we'll see anything remotely innovative from marvel for at least a few years. We'll get a classic trilogy series, a prequel trilogy series and one that ties into the sequel trilogy. And that will probably be it.

"This deals getting worse all the time"........(We don't have a Lando emoticon?!)_________________Mara: "Not many people Dare to hug me"
Lando: "That leaves more of you for me then!"

"Sure I can't move a rock with my mind, but, boy can I make that rock think its been moved."

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 7:14 pm

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ReepicheepMaster

Joined: 05 Feb 2008Posts: 7121Location: Sailing into the unknown

^ _________________
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:36 am

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Dog-Poop_WalkerMaster

Joined: 28 Jan 2012Posts: 1169Location: Deserts without mirages

Darth_Henning wrote:

Depends what happens to republication rights. Dark Horse grabbed them for the original marvel and newspaper strips, so its 50/50 whether or not Marvel would have grabbed all the repub rights back with this coming deal.

That is poetic isn't it? That DH bought the rights to SW from Marvel who clearly didn't want them or else they wouldn't have made the deal and now Marvel is taking them back because of Disney.

I know that I am just looking for an excuse to be mad at Disney on principle, but I don't really have to look far. It's not just me, they seem to be snubbing everyone who worked on SW projects whenever they put their hands to it._________________Unsure whether it was desire or despair that kept me drawing breath. When all my dreams came down to nothing, left me just another piece of meat. For you I carried my life on in my teeth. Through betrayed years and bloody tears, and pits where you can only crawl. Poor Grendel's had an accident... So may you all.

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:57 pm

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Darth_HenningMaster

Joined: 12 Apr 2011Posts: 549Location: Canada

Just put this together based on discussion at TFN.

For anyone who wants to get a complete collection of Dark Horse Comics while they're still available, this doc lists all the Omnibi, Trades and orphan Comics that comprise a complete collection.

Open to editing for anyone who finds stuff I missed, or as things change._________________

Darth Skuldren wrote:

Yes, we're still at the mercy of Darth_Henning

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:08 am

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HogyMaster

Joined: 14 Dec 2011Posts: 934Location: Nar Shaddaa

This news made me sad .
It was expected but still
I guess there won't be any issue #50 from existing projects.

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:47 am

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1810Location: Ontario, Canada

Regarding re-publication rights, I saw one article that said that anything published by Dark Horse can still be printed by Dark Horse (so they can still collect TPBs and Omnibuses of the things made between 1991 and 2014, but can't make anything new as of 1 January 2015).

EDIT: I mis-read. What the article said: "Per our original contract with Lucasfilm, reprints/usage of Dark Horse published material would require Disney to purchase the original files directly from Dark Horse."

So Dark Horse retains some rights. Not to print, but it "owns", for lack of a better word, the things it published. So Marvel would need to buy the rights to print DH-published material.

Which means that, in theory, we'll never see pre-2015 material printed again, at least not for a long time._________________"I'm...from Earth."

Last edited by Taral-DLOS on Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:12 am; edited 1 time in total

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:50 am

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Darth SkuldrenModerator

Joined: 04 Feb 2008Posts: 6658Location: Missouri

Yeah, sucks knowing that the Marvel move means no more stories from the writers we like and no more stories from series we like.

"...we are honored to have the opportunity to bring our creative talent pool to continue, and expand Star Wars into galaxies far, far away." -Marvel

I'm betting that means all new writers and series. However, the other thing I'm wondering about is whether Marvel cares about continuity. Are we just going to get a bunch of reboots with the Big 3 until the new movies roll out?_________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:19 pm

Message

Darth_HenningMaster

Joined: 12 Apr 2011Posts: 549Location: Canada

The most recent tweets from Leland indicate that the Story Group will be deciding what is Canon and that he and Pablo will be on it.

Which implies that there will be a consistent canon of some form.

However, there's no hint whether or not that will be all new, include all old EU, include part of the old EU, or allow multiple tellings of each event and then they pick the "best" one to 'count' going forwards._________________

Darth Skuldren wrote:

Yes, we're still at the mercy of Darth_Henning

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 2:32 am

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Dog-Poop_WalkerMaster

Joined: 28 Jan 2012Posts: 1169Location: Deserts without mirages

Taral-DLOS wrote:

Regarding re-publication rights, I saw one article that said that anything published by Dark Horse can still be printed by Dark Horse (so they can still collect TPBs and Omnibuses of the things made between 1991 and 2014, but can't make anything new as of 1 January 2015).

EDIT: I mis-read. What the article said: "Per our original contract with Lucasfilm, reprints/usage of Dark Horse published material would require Disney to purchase the original files directly from Dark Horse."

So Dark Horse retains some rights. Not to print, but it "owns", for lack of a better word, the things it published. So Marvel would need to buy the rights to print DH-published material.

Which means that, in theory, we'll never see pre-2015 material printed again, at least not for a long time.

That means that Marvel is not going to publish DH material. Why do you interpret that as meaning that DH will not reprint it's own existing material? As it stands DH doesn't usually do regular reprinting, except for anniversary and their omnibus', but I would expect them to publish collected editions of any material that they have not previously done so according to regular schedule._________________Unsure whether it was desire or despair that kept me drawing breath. When all my dreams came down to nothing, left me just another piece of meat. For you I carried my life on in my teeth. Through betrayed years and bloody tears, and pits where you can only crawl. Poor Grendel's had an accident... So may you all.